May 28, 2013

Our friends at Zenger Farm were featured in both this week’s Portland Business Journal and the June 2013 issue of Portland Monthly.

Situated on six-acres of land in Southeast Portland, Zenger Farm is one of the largest farms within the city limits. In its fourteenth year, the farm is active and growing everyday.

In the Portland Monthly article, “Farm to Future,” Randy Gragg highlights how the farm has “more than 6,000 school-children from across the metro region visit every year. One thousand families take part in the farm’s ‘Healthy Eating on a Budget’ workshops. Each Sunday, 900 shoppers routinely visit the Lents International Farmer’s Market, which the farm has been operating in the neighborhood since 2006.” The property also includes a 10-acre wetland that's part of the Johnson Creek Watershed and offers a great setting to teach kids about sustainable farming practices and urban ecosystems.

Zenger Farm was Portland’s first community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm. CSAs are an alternative way to get fresh and local produce instead of going to the grocery store. With CSAs, community members can buy a membership at the start of the growing season so they can take home a portion of the farm’s harvest. In the past, CSAs were thought of as only benefitting higher-income families with a disposable income – but Zenger Farm reconstructed payment plans so their CSA would be able to accept food stamps.

With all its success, the Zenger Farm’s facility now needs to grow.

Zenger Farm has launched a campaign to expand their facilities into an “Urban Grange.” The Urban Grange will feature 8,960 square feet of classrooms, food processing facilities, a commercial kitchen, offices, and community meeting areas. As Zenger Executive Director Jill Kuehler explains, “the Urban Grange will allow us to double our programs.” They hope to break ground next spring on the $1.9 million project.

We are proud to partner with Zenger Farm to support the local food movement, and make it possible for every Portlander to have access to fresh food!

Nonprofit Zenger Farm to double program capacity with new grange

Kelly House in The Oregonian

Zenger Farm seeks $1.9M fund raise for 'Urban Grange'

Andy Giegerich in the Portland Business Journal

photo courtesy of Portland Business Journal